The Dynamics of Dispossession

This article takes established findings of economic research as its starting point to discuss social justice principles and the dynamics of dispossession that deny many people, as well as entire communities, realization and enjoyment of social justice. Several key themes are identified and analyzed in three sections. The first section presents fundamental principles of social justice, particularly those relevant to economic ethics, and shows that sustainable development embodies these principles. It then distinguishes between individualism, society and community, arguing that community provides the most effective framework within which to apply the identified principles. The second section examines the dynamics of dispossession that underpin virtually any form of economy. The third section describes countermeasures that have been recommended throughout history. The conclusions emphasize the dynamic of most economies that wealth or power, left to their own devices, attract yet more wealth or power at the expense of the poor and powerless. The essential remedy is to defuse the dynamics of dispossession. Conscious collective countermeasures are indispensable in order to restore to the deprived the freedom and prosperity of which these processes deprive them. However, these countermeasures require further elaboration and political action to be put into practice.